Irony and Antithesis
by JuunoDoll
Summary: They were completely opposite poles; she, a mere weakling of a human, and him, one of the strongest Yato there has ever been. But then again, life is strange and full of ironic surprises. [Kamui X OC]
1. CHAPTER ONE: Fortuitous

**CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

 **Fortuitous**

" _We are all dead people with living dreams"_

* * *

"Shiharu-chan, if you won't stop playing with that game console, your eyes will go bad." Hinowa gently reminded the vermillion-haired girl; clearly, the latter was too engrossed in the new game at hand.

Who knew that _Monkey Hunter_ would finally be releasing its PSP version?

Kamiya Shiharu simply rolled her crimson eyes as she re-positioned herself on the couch, pretending as if she didn't hear a thing at all.

Hinowa sighed as she finally gave up on prodding the girl to stand up and do something worthwhile for once— after almost a hundred times of trying, the girl still wouldn't move her lazy ass off the couch, unless she needed to eat or go to the bathroom.

' _Ah, such a waste'_ , she thought. The girl had potential to be a courtesan, and if only she took things seriously, she would have been at least a Shinzô[1] by now.

But then again, this is one lazy girl we are talking about. Learning how to at least look presentable, and be a proper attendant of a courtesan, was out of the question in her vocabulary.

Cooking, proper etiquette, finesse, and everything a lady should at least have were also, unfortunately, not present with the name, "Shiharu".

She'd rather learn how to play various video games rather than learn how to play the shimasen.

If Hinowa wasn't any nice person around the block, she'd most likely be shamed from the walls of Yoshiwara by now.

The girl also wasn't capable of joining the Hyakka, since Hinowa herself would not like a scar to be embedded on the girl's skin; Tsukuyo, on the other hand, could only slap her forehead whenever the girl actually _attempted_ to be useful for once and tried practicing the martial arts with her.

Tsukuyo practically gave up on the first day of teaching her in Kabuki-cho, after the incident with accidentally throwing a kunai at the ass of Shinsengumi's Commander while he was doing his daily routine of stalking Shimura Otae occured.

Rather, Shiharu wasn't allowed to touch any kind of weapon or sharp object anymore.

Oh, the joy.

But Shiharu was indeed talented in one thing: Video Games.

Despite being physically weak and untalented, she was actually very good whenever it came to strategizing, and playing MMORPGs. For every game that existed, those that she tried playing, she always turned out to be Top 1.

But to the eyes of others, she was simply ignored and mocked once that she'd end up being a Madao in due time if she didn't do or learn anything useful that would actually help her earn money, not _lose_ it.

If only she'd been to Pewdiepie's generation, she would be hellish rich by now.

Tsukuyo frowned as she approached Hinowa, disappointment evident in the courtesan's eyes.

"So it was a fail again today, huh?"

Hinowa nodded sadly in response. "I've tried everything, but nothing happens. I tried confiscating the console once, but the next day, I saw it in her hands once again. Be it the PC, PSP, DS, Wii— all of them I tell you, but still to no avail."

"Isn't it about time we try being rough on her for once? The kid needs to learn at least a thing or two." Tsukuyo nonchalantly suggested, while puffing her kiseru.

Hinowa frowned once again. "That is not possible, I don't want to scar her further. It's bad enough that both of her parents are gone."

"Well… we'd have to do something about this sooner or later, if she doesn't want to end up being like that Shinpachi from Yorozuya."

In actuality, Shiharu was never a legit family of Hinowa; she was merely an orphan who was seen living in a dumpster, who was eventually saved by the Tsukuyo during her patrol duty in Yoshiwara.

Considering that she was a Kamiya, her lineage was tracked down to the Joui Wars era, wherein all of them have been reported to be wiped out, her parents included.

According to the friends of her parents, they told Shiharu that her name Shiharu was actually composed of two seemingly opposite characters: shi (死), which means 'death', and haru (春), which stands for 'spring'.

It is indeed ironic for spring and death to be combined into a single name.

She was taken into the orphanage as a baby by a Joui rebel who was a friend of her parents, but she immediately escaped at the tender age of 7, and has been wandering around since then.

As soon as she had been taken in, Tsukuyo then proceeded to put her in a brothel as a Kamuro[2], at least she was allowed to live; it was either work or die during Hosen's time.

She was at first taught the basics, learning the alphabet, reading and writing— you name it.

For the other basic things a Kamuro should know, well… she always helplessly failed at it.

There was even this one time when she was close to being executed due to her useless self.

Tsukuyo would like to put her under the care of the Hyakka, but at that time, she was far too young to be holding a kunai.

That was why, as soon as Yoshiwara had changed its king, things went all for the better.

But now being 16 years of age and lazy, none of them is honestly sure whether Shiharu is included in those 'better changes'.

' _Dang, my eyes are tired. I think I have to rest them for a bit.'_ Shiharu thought as she finally put the game console down, stretching her arms and legs on the couch like a cat.

Seita came inside carrying grocery bags, and scowled at the girl upon seeing that she was lazing around as usual.

"Hey, you freeloader! Come and help us for once. All you do is eat, sleep, and play all day." He grumpily said as he proceeded to go to the kitchen to hand to his mother the groceries.

Shiharu rolled her eyes once again in disapproval.

There was no way in hell would she go out to 'shop', rather, go out in general.

In fact, she hated going out.

If a homebody was to be described, she would perfectly fit in it— although she would be better classified as an extreme homebody.

"Okaa-san! Why can't we make Shiharu do the groceries for once, she's being completely useless again!" Seita whined, slumping his head on the table.

"Seita!" Hinowa gently scolded. "Never say that about your nee-san, nobody is completely useless."

"But she's not my—"

One motherly glare was all it took for Seita to shut his mouth.

"She's considered as family now, considering that nobody would like to take her in anymore. Somehow, there is potential, we just have to give her a little push."

"But how many pushes would we need?!"

Hinowa didn't respond, rather, she _couldn't_ respond.

How many pushes would indeed be required in order for the girl to do something worthwhile?

Tsukuyo frowned; it was most likely her fault that the girl had been more of a lazy ass now.

If only it weren't for a certain samurai who briefly told her about _Monkey Hunter_ …

The brief silence was suddenly broken as soon as Shiharu emerged from the living room, rubbing her eyes as if she just woke up from a deep sleep.

"Oh, Shiharu-chan! It's nice of you to finally get up. Would you please be so kind to help me in the kitchen? We will be having yakisoba for dinner." Hinowa cheerily greeted the girl, her hopes getting up.

Shiharu gave a blank stare before her stomach growled.

Before she could point at Seita to help, the boy and Tsukuyo suddenly disappeared from the kitchen.

She could only grunt in response as she despondently approached the courtesan.

"Alright, now I will be teaching you how to make at least this delicious meal."

Shiharu rolled her eyes. _'Oh no please.'_

* * *

Seita was snickering while Tsukuyo smirked as they made their way to the Yorozuya.

It was about time they did something to somehow help his nee-san, he thought. Tsukuyo, on the other hand, was more than ready to give out an earful or two.

Oh how Gintoki was really gonna get it.

"Kagura nee-san! Open up!" Seita called, banging his small hand on the shoji door.

But the Yato was nowhere in sight; she currently has her hands full with a certain Shinsengumi officer, battling it out in the park with Sadaharu.

Instead, a very much annoyed Shinpachi opened up for them instead.

"Is there any other way you know, any other _gentle_ way you know on how to properly knock?!" He scolded the young boy, a vein popping on his forehead.

Seita glared at him, giving an annoyed huff in response. "At least I didn't break the door, megane."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Tsukuyo, ignoring the argument, merely said, "Is Gintoki here? I'd like to have a word with him."

Shinpachi shifted his attention to the Hyakka leader who was currently frowning at him.

He had a bad feeling that this would not be ending well.

"W-well… he's inside. Would you like to come in?" He cautiously responded, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his face.

"Certainly."

Seita smirked in triumph while the glasses boy glared at him in response, allowing the two to come in.

As usual, Gintoki was busy lazing off, reading the latest issue of _Jump_.

Tsukuyo's right eye twitched as she briefly was reminded of this position.

If only they didn't know Shiharu's history, they would've honestly thought of her as being the samurai's child.

They even had the same color of eyes, surely it is possible…

… or not.

Tsukuyo approached him and stood, glaring at him.

"Oh, hello." Gintoki lazily greeted her as he flipped the page.

"Would you care to take responsibility?" She seethes, giving the samurai a death glare. If looks could kill, Gintoki would have dropped dead by now.

"Responsibility for what? Ah, just make megane-kun over there take responsibility for it, since he's the most responsible out of us three."

"WHAT?! I'M TIRED OF BEING THE STRAIGHT MAN IN THIS ANIME!"

Out the distance, the fourth wall crumbled to pieces with a sickening crack.

"Ne, I'm the main character here, so I always hog all the screen time. Maybe it's about time you make yourself useful. Young boys shouldn't grow to be lazy bums, or you'll be a cherry boy for life."

If only the fourth wall could repair itself just to crumble yet again, it would have happened by now.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I'M NOT A CHERRY BOY! I HAVE OTSUU-CHAN! AND AREN'T YOU BEING THE LAZY BUM HERE? WHO KNOWS GIN-CHAN, YOU MIGHT BE A CHERRY BOY YOURSELF!"

"Hai hai, tons of Otsuu figurines at your Otsuu altar. And no, Pachi-kun. Your old Gin-san here is a master of women, I know _everything_ about these species." He drawled, only to earn a whack in the head by the Hyakka leader, after snatching the _precious_ manga from his hands.

"If you _knew everything_ about women, then I'm sure that you would be able to know about our girl as well. Thanks to you, she wouldn't get up unless she needs to attend to her physiologic needs." She icily responded, giving Gintoki the shivers.

If only he wasn't up against someone like her, he would have been running for his life by now.

"What girl? I have not laid in bed for— wait you don't need to know that!"

 _WHACK!_

"Uh Gin-san, I think it's best if you just stopped talking."

"How hurtful of you to say that, glasses-kun. I have not—"

"I AM NOT GLASSES-KUN! I HAVE A NAME!"

"I have a favor, no, order to ask of you." Tsukuyo interrupted, getting more impatient by the second. "We have this certain _freeloader kid_ who has been doing nothing but _play_ games all day, not _play with men_ , as you have implied."

Gintoki gave her his trademark dead fish eyes expression. "Eh, Seita-kun? But he's with you now, isn't he?"

"Not this one!" She irritatingly responded. "Shiharu! The female kid living with us!"

Gintoki and Shinpachi looked at each other with confused looks. The glasses boy was the first to respond.

"But Tsukuyo-san, during our visits we are sure that we haven't seen any other female you are pertaining to."

"Well that's because she's too busy lazing around, locked up in her rooms for goodness knows how long."

"Isn't this supposed to be your job then? You have a whole Hyakka to lead, and I'm sure you're a fine and dandy leader." Gintoki responded, picking his ear.

Tsukuyo slightly blused at the compliment, silencing herself for a minute.

"Uh… Tsukuyo nee-san." Seita gently nudged her, bringing her back to reality.

"W-well unfortunately, my so-called _leadership skills_ were of no use to that brat. We couldn't put her up for training as a courtesan, nor to be part of the Hyakka. That is why I need _your_ help, considering that the both of you share the same trait."

Shinpachi sheepishly responded, scratching his head. "But Tsukuyo-san… are you sure about that? We ourselves are freelancers who do only jobs once we have customers. We can't say for sure that we will be able to… help out Shiharu-san."

' _And besides, she might turn out to be lazier once she gets to hang out with Gin-san',_ he silently cringed at the thought.

"Nevertheless, I am still putting her under your care for some time, until she learns how to do something worthwhile. Besides, who knows what trouble might brew in our place. Yoshiwara may be safe for now, but we still can't tell for sure." She replied, puffing out smoke once again from her kiseru.

"Also, I'll be giving you compensation for your hard work, once we have seen her improved even for just a bit." She added, tossing a bag of coins to Gintoki. "Take this as some form of advanced payment."

Ka-ching sounds suddenly emanated within the heads of the two Yorozuya members.

Gintoki immediately stood up and eagerly shook Tsukuyo's hand. "Okay then where's the girl? We'd be more than happy to have another member with us!"

Seita rolled his eyes in response. ' _Well, at least I have okaa-san all to myself now_.' He silently smirked.

"Th-thank you Tsukuyo-san! Yes, we'd be more than happy to help!" Shinpachi beamed.

"Alright, it is settled then." Tsukuyo smiled.

Now that would be one less problem now for her to fix.

Or so it seems.

* * *

"Ah, Shiharu-chan, would you be so kind enough to buy some more tea leaves for me? I would go there myself, but unfortunately, I have my hands full with cooking." Hinowa regretfully said, earning a frown from the girl.

She sighed. Well, dang it. Hinowa's tea was good, and she couldn't pass off the opportunity to drink one of her heavenly drinks.

"Okay." She responded while putting her small palm up towards Hinowa.

The courtesan giggled. "Here, and keep the change. You deserve something for yourself, since you agreed to help me. Take care on your way!"

Shiharu gave out a small smile and nodded.

 _At least I'm still being treated nicely despite my uncooperativeness_ , she thought as she proceeded out the door.

As soon as she stepped out, she felt this foreign feeling of the cold breeze caressing her face; it has certainly been a while since she has gone out of the house.

No wonder she was pale— she was honestly mistaken for being a Yato once by some of the courtesans due to her skin color.

If only they knew the real reason.

She walked quickly towards the tea shop, fully aware that no matter how seemingly safe Yoshiwara was, it was still actually a far cry from the safe haven from above.

She immediately made her purchases and bought some packs of bubblegum for herself, as a reward.

It wouldn't hurt to splurge herself since she rarely goes out, right?

Feeling satisfied and somewhat eager to go home, she briskly walked away, deciding to use a shortcut instead to decrease her travel time.

However, the said shortcut was practically like walking into the lion's den; almost all of the hardcore brothels that contained the brute and rudest of the rude men were located in the area.

Not that Shiharu was aware of the important fact.

As soon as she passed by the dark alleyway, a pair of hands roughly yanked her towards it.

"What the— _mmff!"_ she surprisingly uttered, before having one dirty hand cover her mouth.

 _It stinks,_ she thought with disgust for a moment, before a manic laughter was heard.

"Lucky win! Look at what we have here, men. After being penniless from the damned pachinko, we finally have a beauty to satisfy our needs." The man snickered; he was with two others who were dressed in samurai outfit as well, but seemed to reek of thrash and alcohol.

"Nice one, dude. Now we won't need to worry over earning money to have fun in the brothels." The second man sneered, violently pushing Shiharu to the wall her back ached with a loud _thud_.

The third man approached her, restraining her arms over her head with one hand, while the other lightly traced her cheek downwards towards her collarbone, revealing a bit of skin that had always been hidden by her black kimono.

"Such beauty indeed, those red eyes keep on tempting me to rip her right here, right now." He said maliciously, looking at her with lust-filled eyes.

The other two snickered as they proceeded to surround Shiharu, who at the moment, was mentally cursing at herself, regretting that if only she had paid more attention to Tsukuyo's teachings and trainings, she would have been able to defend herself and at least escape towards a safer place.

 _Thanks to me and my laziness,_ she regretfully thought.

However, surprising as it was, even though Shiharu was practically about to die from fear and dread, she seemed to be perfectly calm and collected on the outside, much to the slight disappointment of the third man, who seemed to be their leader.

"Ah, it's a shame though that she seems so unemotional. It'd be more fun to have a feisty one with us."

"But man, we can't be choosy now. It's rare for us to abduct a beauty like this." The second man said, moaning afterwards as he started to remove the girl's obijime, while the first man violently yanked her hair, inhaling the vanilla scent it gave off.

Shiharu was close to tears but forced herself not to cry. She had been trying to scream for a while now, but as if she was the unluckiest person on the face of the earth right now, no sound came out.

Soon her obi dropped to the dirty ground, gradually revealing her inner wear, much to the delight of her three assailants.

What a perfect day to go out, she sarcastically thought as she desperately continued to pray to the heavens to at least spare her a bit of grace.

* * *

"Danchou, it's a surprise for you to visit your own 'kingdom'. I will be as well damned to see you finally take interest in things males your age should be paying attention to." Abuto heartily joked as he and Kamui walked along the streets of Yoshiwara.

"Shut up Abuto, I'm just checking around the area for strong opponents who might be wandering around. Besides, it's boring back at the ship." Kamui, who currently had his face wrapped in bandages, cheerfully said as he punched his Vice-Captain on the cheek, earning a frown and a silent cuss from the latter.

' _Yeah, it must be too boring to do the paperwork an Admiral should actually be doing, huh?'_ Abuto grimly thought as he gave a brief hold of his now swollen cheek.

It was really rare of Kamui to visit Yoshiwara, despite being the new King of the Night. In fact, he almost never really visited at all after Housen's death.

So for Abuto, it was indeed quite a surprise for them to be strolling down his domain at _this hour_.

In all honesty, Abuto was silently wishing for the Admiral to be a little bit nicer, to act as how an Admiral should, even for just a bit.

He also had this secret wish of having him experience the wonders of being a man, since clearly, Kamui was lacking in the department of expertly managing girls, being a gentleman at that.

He wasn't even gentle to food, which was supposedly his _first love_.

If Abuto had been given a choice, he would much rather be cooped up in the office facing _mundane_ paperwork that had to be submitted and turned in within the week, instead of casually taking a walk with the vermillion-haired lad.

Sometimes, he honestly thought if the boy considered him as his personal _nanny_.

Not that he had the guts to ask though, or he might be joining Ungyo in Yato Heaven soon.

If ever Heaven existed for Yato like them.

It was strange of the Kihetai to temporarily depart with them after a while, reasoning out that a 'vacation from planning to destroy the world' should be done by both parties— the thought itself seemed ludicrous.

Who would want to enjoy the wonders earth can give, only to destroy it after?

Worse, none of the two Yato knew when they would come back to continue on with their plan, leaving his hands full of Kamui, paperwork, and more Kamui.

And more risks of being dead at the soonest time possible.

It was a wonder that Kamui never seemed to care about the current arrangement.

He was always on 'vacation' anyway.

Abuto sighed for the nth time and was about to ask the Admiral if he could go back into the ship instead to finish the paperwork that needs urgent attention, when the latter suddenly stopped.

"He he he look at that precious skin~~ You would be better off being my personal bitch! Mmmmhmm!" A lewd voice resonated from a corner to the right, earning a creepy smile from the young lad.

"Ne, Abuto, do you hear that? Would you like to check it out?"

Abuto mentally banged his head to the wall as he sighed, "Danchou, for all we know, they probably would just be some two people fucking their parts off to each other like rabbits. Let's just give them the credit and respect their privacy."

His mouth gaped in surprise and was close to carrying his boss sack-potatoes style back towards the ship as soon as he realized that he didn't listen to a word Abuto said.

Not that he had the courage to do so though.

Kamui pretended as if he didn't hear anything as he proceeded to go towards the direction of the sound.

' _Ah, I will definitely be damned_ ', Abuto thought dejectedly, following his boss towards wherever he planned to go to.

This definitely won't be pretty, since nothing good really came out of peeping on other people's 'activities'.

* * *

"He he he look at that precious skin~~ You would be better off being my personal bitch! Mmmmhmm!" the third man obscenely said, while burying his face in Shiharu's neck. The latter was scared as hell, but never made an attempt to move or at least spare herself some dignity, since fear decided to be a bitch, paralyzing her.

She closed her eyes and thought about how she must be a very bad person, to be punished severely like this. Her body shivered from the cold, a tear threatening to leak out from her right eye, by which she stubbornly willed herself to not let fall.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Shouldn't you be doing intimate things like this in a proper room? Not like I care though." Kamui cheekily said from behind as he casually walked towards them as if he was strolling down the park, followed by a very much unhappy Abuto.

In Abuto's dictionary, nobody really wanted to be walked in on, especially when things were getting _good._

Not that it was good at all for Shiharu though, who suddenly opened her eyes in wide surprise and hope, upon realizing that the interruption she has been hardly praying for has finally arrived.

However, the three men who were suddenly disturbed from their lust were not happy.

Rather, they were livid the moment Kamui decided to join in the fun.

Shiharu's eyes widened as soon as she saw a male with vermillion hair with a braid that was loosely hanging on his shoulder, his face completely covered in bandages, save for his strikingly cerulean eyes. He also seemed to be accompanied by a tall, broad man with ash-brown hair. Both of them also carried intimidating-looking umbrellas.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing brat? Get away from here if you don't wanna get hu—" _Fsssh._ The first man dropped to the floor, blood spluttering from his throat, rendering him unable to finish his sentence, or rather, last words.

"I don't think it's nice to interrupt while other people are talking." Kamui lightly said, his smile still plastered on his face.

' _If only you'd apply that to yourself Danchou, I would have been so proud of you right now.'_ Abuto sweat-dropped, clearly not happy about the situation they were in. He'd rather be completing paperwork than be a peeping tom on two, no, three men who seemed to be having fun just a while back before they were interrupted.

The two men released Shiharu at once, with the third one roughly shoving her inside.

They proceeded to attempt to run away, only to be silenced by Kamui, after bashing one of their heads to the while, while stomping on the other head with a sickening crunch.

"Ah, that's no fun. I thought I would finally have a good fight too. It must be that only Samurai-san is the capable samurai, the one worth fighting for." Kamui sighed, he was about to leave when he finally noticed a vermillion-haired girl slumped to the corner, her clothes currently a mess.

For a while he honestly thought the said girl was Kagura.

Abuto thought so too, except, this girl had chest-length hair, and there was no sign of the trademark buns China girl had.

Curiosity got the better of Kamui as he approached Shiharu, lifting up her chin in order to take a good look at her.

Shiharu was filled with surprise, as she stared wide-eyed to her savior, or dark knight, as she would now call it.

Kamui himself felt briefly surprised as he curiously peered into those crimson eyes; they awfully looked similar to Gintoki's, but this one didn't have a dead fish expression.

The girl shivered in fear upon noticing that bloody hands, bloody hands stained from the lifeline of her assailants just a moment ago, were currently staining her chin as well.

Kamui chuckled in response. "You seem like a scared little weakling rabbit, I see."

Abuto frowned. That was such a horrible way to greet someone who was about to be raped, he thought.

Shiharu opened her mouth to respond, but again, no words came out.

She honestly feared for her life at the moment; if this vermillion-haired guy could kill three men with ease, never batting an eye, what more would she, a mere weakling, be able to defend herself?

That's paralyzing fear to you.

"Eh? Are you mute? Thinking about it now, you don't seem to be talking." Kamui mused, finally releasing the girl's chin and standing up.

' _This is boring',_ he thought. ' _Time to leave.'_

"Danchou, be more gentle with her." Abuto chided, the girl clearly was shaking in fear, but his thick-headed boss seemed to be too dense to sense such an obvious thing.

"Let's go back Abuto, I'm starting to get hungry." Kamui ignored the former comment as he turned to his subordinate and was about to leave, when suddenly Shiharu was able to fight off her fear and mumble quietly.

"Thank you. P-please have this in return." She fearfully said, shaking hands holding up the back of bubblegum she bought earlier.

Kamui turned around once again to face her, cerulean eyes meeting crimson ones.

"Oh no no girl, please don't mistake me of saving you. It's just my principle that women may be able to bear strong children, whom would possibly be worthy as an opponent of mine in the future. Children would also have the possible potential of being strong too, so no, as much as possible I restrain myself from killing women and children." He casually said, his trademark grin returning, taking the said bubblegum from her hand.

' _I also wouldn't deal with weaklings. No use in wasting my time with them.'_ , he thought.

Shiharu gave him a surprised look before slowly nodding, while the two proceeded to walk out, until they were finally out of her sight.

Suddenly feeling the trauma and exhaustion, she collapsed to the dirty ground, surrounded by the three men, or rather, corpses. The tea leaves and remaining pack of bubblegum were now scattered about as well.

"I guess I should start reforming myself into a better person." She stated, as silent tears stubbornly leaked out, staining her pale face.

After almost half an hour of remaining in place, she finally stood up, her painful body writhing in pain as she did so.

Fixing her kimono as neatly as she could, she slowly picked up her purchases and tearfully hurried home.

In her mind, she mentally swore to never step out of the house again no matter what, not after experiencing something as horrible as this.

* * *

"Ne, Abuto, what do you think this is?" Kamui asked as he popped a piece of bubblegum into his mouth, their ship finally in sight. "It tastes sweet and feels rubbery."

Abuto restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "That's what you would call, bubblegum, Danchou. It's practically gum you can chew with, but you don't really eat it at once and gulp down."

"Oh, so can it make bubbles then?"

Abuto's eye twitched in response.

He silently contemplated whether he should just join Ungyo in peace or not.

* * *

"Okaa-san, where is the freeloader? I'm hungry!" Seita whined for the nth time.

All of them were seated in the dining room for half an hour now, but still, there was no Shiharu to be found.

Tsukuyo finally decided that it was time to look for the girl. "I'll go out for a bit and look for her. Who knows what could have happened to that—"

 _Slide_

Tsukuyo was cut off as the front door was opened, revealing a disheveled Shiharu, her eyes swollen from the tears. The two women and Seita could not believe their eyes, as Hinowa hurriedly approached the girl, hugging her like a mother would.

"Shiharu-chan! What on earth happened to you?!"

Shiharu grimly smiled in response. "Well, I slipped and fell."

The two women would hear none of her excuses, Tsukuyo gently chiding Hinowa to hand the girl to her.

"Seita and you could proceed to eat dinner; it would be a waste to leave the food turn cold." Upon seeing the panicked eyes of Hinowa, she added. "Don't worry, I'll take care of Shiharu-chan."

Hinowa silently nodded, slightly shaking as she returned to the table, with a very much concerned-looking Seita.

Tsukuyo silently brought Shiharu to the bathroom as the latter looked as apathetic as possible.

"You were about to be assaulted, weren't you?"

Shiharu looked at Tsukuyo with surprise, letting silent tears fall once again as she saw the sorrowful expression Tsukuyo's eyes had.

She slowly nodded, hugging the Hyakka leader immediately as soon as she couldn't take it anymore.

Shiharu rarely cried, but when she did, it was only because of traumatic things.

And this would be the first time she experienced something terribly traumatic as this.

"Ssh, don't cry… at least you're safe now." Tsukuyo soothingly said, while combing the girl's hair. As soon as this was all done, she would definitely hunt the bastards who dare touch their own girl. No matter what, Shiharu was still family, and it would always remain that way.

Shiharu finally let out quiet sobs as she continued to shake under Tsukuyo's motherly hold, the latter gently prodding her to tell more.

"So how did you escape?"

The girl forcefully let herself calm down for a bit in order for her to somewhat coherently respond.

"Braids… Orange man…" she responded between hiccups and tears.

' _Braids, orange man?'_ Tsukuyo silently wondered until the realization hit her.

"Don't tell me he's—"

Shiharu unknowingly interrupted her. "I think his name is Danchou."

Tsukuyo absent-mindedly pulled Shiharu's cheeks, frowning at the girl. The tender moment was obviously forgotten for a minute.

"His name is not 'Danchou', you brat. He's the new King of the Knight, Harusame's former 7th Division Captain, now an Admiral, Kamui."

Shiharu looked puzzled for a moment. "But the Abuto guy called him Danchou."

Tsukuyo could only slap her forehead in response.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hi! It's Juuno again. XD I decided to make a new fic featuring Kamui and an OC of mine, since I was quite disappointed with the first fan fic I made about him. ._. *hides from a murderous-looking Aika***

 **Also, I would like to thank GinkoxKaguura and BloodyCamellia in giving input on the latest chapter of my other fan fic, which is now discontinued. Your reviews and opinions really helped me a lot with my decision to start anew. ^-^**

 **Please do tell me as well your thoughts regarding this chapter, y'guys! Thank you so much for reading. :D**

 **[1]** **Shinzo –** (新造, lit. "newly made") were courtesans-in-training, usually 13 to 23 years of age, who usually served as attendants to higher-ranking courtesans.

 **[2]Kamuro –** (禿) were children, usually seven to fifteen years of age, who served as courtesans' attendants.


	2. CHAPTER TWO: Hitsuzen

**CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

 **Hitsuzen**

" _If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."  
― __James P. Lewis_

* * *

" _Braids… Orange man…" she responded between hiccups and tears._

' _Braids, orange man?' Tsukuyo silently wondered until the realization hit her._

" _Don't tell me he's—"_

 _Shiharu unknowingly interrupted her. "I think his name is Danchou."_

 _Tsukuyo absent-mindedly pulled Shiharu's cheeks, frowning at the girl. The tender moment was obviously forgotten for a minute._

" _His name is not 'Danchou', you brat. He's the new King of the Knight, Harusame's former 7_ _th_ _Division Captain, now an Admiral, Kamui."_

 _Shiharu looked puzzled for a moment. "But the Abuto guy called him Danchou."_

 _Tsukuyo could only slap her forehead in response._

* * *

It has been barely a week since the incident, and things have made a sharp turn for the worse.

Ever since then, Shiharu has locked herself up in the room, literally; she only went out whenever she had to eat or use the bathroom.

Apparently, for an extreme homebody like Shiharu, the almost-rape situation made her somewhat agoraphobic.

So much for finally making an effort to go out and stop playing video games.

Tsukuyo and Hinowa constantly took turns in checking up on her, Seita even tried helping out to convince Shiharu to go outside with him to play.

All they got in response was a blank look before turning back towards the screen of her PSP.

"I think I have no choice but to bring her over to the Yorozuya. Staying cooped up in Yoshiwara really does her no good, especially if this is the place that gave her trauma." Tsukuyo stated cautiously, eyeing Hinowa for any possible reaction.

The courtesan sighed in response.

If it were up to her, by hook or by crook, she'd have Shiharu by her side at all times.

However, upon seeing the state of the girl, nothing has ever been better. Yes, she has seemed to 'move on' from the incident, since the day after she hasn't been crying about it since; she has even given calm responses upon being asked by Hinowa. However, one noticeable change that has been made within was that no matter what, she would never leave the house.

Ever.

If having her get out of her room was hard enough, it was surely close to impossible to make her step one foot out the front door.

It was either she clung on to dear life on the furniture, or pretended to be dead.

Not that she could actually pull off being dead though.

Seita himself, being the brat he is, started to worry about her well-being. Certainly, it was possible to be on house arrest, but no sane person would love to lock oneself in one's bedroom.

Bedroom.

"Hinowa?" Tsukuyo said, placing a hand over hers, eyes full of concern.

Hinowa closed her eyes. There was nothing more she could do, right?

Shiharu may hate her for this, but she just wants the girl to live normally and happily as any normal teenager her age should.

"I trust you Tsukuyo, and I trust them as well. You have my blessing."

Tsukuyo gave out a small, pained smile. Having the girl leave would be just as difficult, since she was now considered as family, despite not being relatives by blood.

Also, despite her laziness, they have already been used to each other's antics, habits, and all.

So having one member leave their humble abode surely was painful.

But then again, it wasn't like they had any other choice. Hinowa was against flooding[1] , and was adamant that Tsukuyo should not resort to such measures; thus, they have settled with the method of having her _gradually_ get over her trauma.

Considering how Shiharu has faced the hardships of life at such a young age, she should be spared further cruelties, Hinowa also thought.

"Thank you. I shall visit the Yorozuya and brief them about this then. I am having a gut feeling that we would be needing their assistance regarding this." Tsukuyo said, standing up.

Hinowa smiled back; it was an equally sad smile. "Alright, take care."

Tsukuyo smiled and turned her head.

"Always for you, my sun."

* * *

Tsukuyo silently made her way towards the Yorozuya and was about to knock on the door when suddenly a human-hole burst open, revealing a laughing Katsura, with Elizabeth behind him.

"Gintoki! Until next time, we shall plan for the revival of the Joui Patriots! You will be joining us soon! Haha!" Were Katsura's parting words as he disappeared with Elizabeth into a corner. He did not seem to see Tsukuyo by the door, with a gaping expression on her face.

A very mad Gintoki ran next, ignoring Tsukuyo as well, ran out in an attempt to chase Katsura. He was holding empty cartons of milk on his left hand, while the right held on to his bokutō.

"Come back here Zura! Nobody finishes my strawberry milk without permission. No, NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO TOUCH MY PRECIOUS THINGS!" He shouted, a vein popping on his forehead.

Katsura, either he was hiding or merely a distance away but surprisingly heard Gintoki, suddenly returned, shouting back an "It's not Zura, it's Katsura!" before running off again.

Gintoki, exasperated that his stress reliever was now reduced to merely pieces of carton, dejectedly walked back to the house.

"Ah, us poor people shouldn't be having to do repairs like this. Why must life be so cruel? Kami-sama, am I a bad boy? Was I too naughty?" He cried fake tears until he noticed a very much displeased Tsukuyo to his right.

"Oh, hello." He said, his dead fish eyes expression returning as if it was always there in the first place.

Tsukuyo frowned at his immaturity, and gestured for him to enter the house.

"Where are the two kids?"

"Outside enjoying their youth." He said in a bored tone, adding with a silent, _'I should be outside too, I never got to enjoy my youth.'_

Tsukuyo decided to ignore his antics and sat down on the couch.

"I think now's the perfect time to get Shiharu."

Gintoki yawned and plopped to his own chair, taking out a Shonen Jump manga from one of the drawers on the table.

"What happened now?"

"She was almost raped in the alleyway near Hinowa's house some nights ago. Since then she hasn't been going out since, let alone leaving her own room was too much of a problem to make her eat and take a bath." Tsukuyo replied, taking out her Kiseru and lighting it.

At that statement, Gintoki looked seriously at Tsukuyo. "So is she…?"

"No." she immediately responded. "Apparently, there was someone who was conveniently at the same time and place, so she was spared of the more traumatic stages of rape. I assume that she was handled roughly though, based on her dirtied appearance and disheveled state."

Gintoki now had his manga discarded on the table, feeling an ounce of concern. He knew it was hard on Tsukuyo, especially Hinowa, who both treasured Seita very much, a lad. What more would it be for Shiharu, a fragile girl who never liked going out in the first place?

"Was her savior's identity known then?"

Tsukuyo scoffed. "Oh, you very much know him. Ironic, the so-called Baka Aniki of one of your foster children saved her on whim. It's quite a miracle that someone like him is actually _capable_ of saving another."

Gintoki's eyes partially widened at the information that was given to him, but then returned to its normal state. He took the manga again and started to flip the pages.

"And Kagura does not know about this."

"Of course not, I'm somewhat sure that she doesn't know Shiharu either, just as you and Shinpachi."

"I see..." He drawled. "When's the brat coming then?"

Tsukuyo stayed silent for a while, only to respond once Gintoki gave her a pointed look.

"I was hoping if today could be possible."

The serious atmosphere was suddenly broken when Gintoki smiled as if he had won the lottery, and let out his right palm faced up.

"Pay up then."

"What?! I just paid you some days ago!" Tsukuyo replied, astonished; her Kiseru almost falling to the floor.

Gintoki smirked while picking his ear. "That's for the reservation fee. We also have the pick-up fee, and registration fee. Our labor fee counts too, since Gin-san here has a feeling he wouldn't be able to bring the kid as easy as it sounds."

Tsukuyo restrained herself from acting childish and rolling her eyes. Instead, she took out a small envelope filled with cash and tossed it to Gintoki, who in return, caught it flawlessly.

"Make sure to budget that. The brat is quite fond of bubblegum… and games."

"Hai hai. Take me to the girl, we don't have all day." He finally said, standing up.

Tsukuyo raised an eyebrow at this.

"Aren't you going to tell Kagura and Shinpachi about this first?"

"It's their fault they're enjoying their youth and leaving old Gin-san to rot. They'll know it later eventually." He smiled silly, earning a whack on the head by Tsukuyo who had her cheeks tinted in faint pink.

* * *

For the first time since they have known her, Kamiya Shiharu has finally expressed herself verbally...

…and not in a good way.

"I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE! NO! NEVER! NO! NO! NO!" Shiharu was practically wailing and stomping her foot at the same time as she clung for dear life on the leg of the dining table, praying desperately that Gintoki would give up and leave her alone.

They have only known each other for only five minutes and counting, and now she hates him as if he was the ultimate villain of her life.

If it wasn't enough that the silver-haired samurai casually yanked her PSP and hid it away in his pants.

Or rather, crotch.

Somehow, he wasn't really sure if he did the right thing. One minute, he could see Shiharu— a seemingly carbon copy of Kagura if it weren't for her eyes, all quiet and peaceful, who greeted him with a blank look before returning to her game.

The next minute, he decided to be an ass and get this over with.

So he decided to 'abduct' her PSP instead.

And for the first time, she snapped and acted really different from her usual demeanor.

"Quiet down, you brat. Papa Gin-san is not happy about this. Stop being a naughty daughter and learn more from Papa." Gintoki pleadingly said, trying to prevent the tears from coming out as Shiharu started to assault his perm as soon as he was able to pry her hands away from her only pillar of resistance.

"SHUT UP! YOU TOOK MY PSP TOO! GIVE IT TO ME YOU PERVERTED OLD MAN!" Shiharu acidly spat, embers seemingly flaring in her eyes.

"Don't make Papa Gin-san have a heart attack and follow obediently like what a child should— STOP PULLING MY HAIR! I DON'T WANT TO GET BALD LIKE KAGURA'S FATHER!"

Now it was Gintoki who was wailing.

Tsukuyo could only roll her eyes at the scene, with Hinowa softly chuckling behind her.

It still doesn't change the fact that they are very much saddened by the events that have transpired.

After all, nobody wants their family member to leave.

"YOU'RE NOT MY PAPA! GET ME DOWN!" Shiharu shrieked, kicking and screaming as if she was a toddler who had candy stolen from her.

Gintoki was at wits' end; the girl might be physically weak, but her surprisingly loud and tiny voice did his ear no good.

He had a tiny fear that somehow, his left ear would end up being deaf and bidding him goodbye, just as how Takasugi's eye left for the afterlife, making him become a Cyclops for life.

Also, he doesn't want to wear a hearing aid like actual old men do.

' _It hasn't been a week since the almost-rape incident, and now I'm being thrown out by my family.'_ , Shiharu thought briefly.

The girl vowed never to leave the house again, no matter what the circumstances are unless dire, and here Gintoki was, ready to ruin the vow with all her might.

At least in Shiharu's mind, Gintoki was the villain for now.

Or possibly her villain forever.

As they say, first impressions last. And her first impression of him was horrendous.

"This is for your own good, you brat. You're already 16 and you need to learn more about the wonders of the world." Gintoki said, , putting her over his shoulder, as if he was carrying a sack of potatoes. He secured his grip on the girl with his left hand, while his right continued to reach for her bags.

Shiharu puffed her cheeks, livid at the sudden change of situation.

She couldn't believe her ears as soon as Tsukuyo laid out the suggestion to have her live with the Yorozuyas after introducing Gintoki to her— whoever they were, for a while, in order to achieve and experience the 'independence' most girls her age should be doing.

Shiharu practically spit out the tea she was drinking due to surprise, much to the amused look of Gintoki.

And what surprised her the most was that her foster mother, Hinowa, had actually agreed to this plan.

"BUT I DUN WANNA GOOOOO— GAAAH!" Shiharu scowled as Gintoki playfully hit her head with his right hand, her bags hitting her in the head as well.

"Tsukuyo nee-san, will this be all of Shi nee-san's things?" Seita asked, wobbling over the bag containing Shiharu's gadgets and games, before handing them to Gintoki who seemed to hold them with ease.

' _Shi? Such… a nice nickname.'_ Shiharu thought dryly.

Tsukuyo nodded and added gently to the girl, satisfied that now she was being quiet and cooperative. "Don't worry Shiharu-chan, I'm sure that your new housemates are really nice and… _normal_."

Maybe it was actually wrong to add the 'normal' part after all, she suddenly thought.

Shiharu rolled her eyes, gradually calming down as soon as she felt exhaustion get to her. Lovely, she thought. It feels as if she's going to have a new family now.

' _Without a doubt you'll be safer there than here. I won't always be present to protect you, but they will.'_ Tsukuyo sadly thought, as she waved goodbye to a very much upset Shiharu who kept on looking at her pleadingly. Hinowa shed a tear, while Seita frowned, somewhat sad that there wouldn't be anyone anymore to get into arguments with.

Saying goodbye was really hard.

* * *

Shiharu, upon stepping foot outside, suddenly shivered in fear.

Gintoki of course, was very much aware of this, but continued to walk.

"Hey kid."

Shiharu continued to shiver; as much as she would like to respond, she could not help but feel afraid, rendering her unable to voice out a reply.

The silver-haired samurai stopped for a bit and smiled.

"Do you want to feel like flying?"

Shiharu frowned, her eyes in confusion. Gintoki didn't wait for her response and continued.

"Close your eyes and enjoy the breeze."

Immediately after, Shiharu felt as if her soul left her body.

But somehow, she felt as if she will take back her words of describing Gintoki as a villain.

He probably isn't that much bad after all, she thought.

* * *

"Ne, Shinpachi, where's Gin-chan?" Kagura asked as soon as they entered the Yorozuya; the silver-haired samurai was still nowhere to be found.

"GAAAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOOR?! KAGURA!" Shinpachi wailed in horror as he clutched his hair.

 _'Why won't people take good care of the house, we can't afford to repair this anymore,'_ he irritatingly thought as he stomped his way in.

Upon learning that their boss wasn't present, he threw a fitload of fits, with Kagura ignoring his rants.

"Be quiet megane, or you'll grow bald like Papi."

"WHAT?! Don't compare me to—"

 _CRASH!_

Their mini argument was cut short as soon as a crash outside was heard.

"Ouch! Don't be like that to your poor papa—"

 _Kick!_

"Not my balls! Anything but my precious and handsome balls!"

The two looked at each other confusedly before heading out the front door to inspect the commotion.

In all honesty, Gintoki would have preferred it if they stayed in their seats like good children and left him to wallow in his humiliating misery alone.

Kagura laughed loudly while Shinpachi let out a concerned look before silently chuckling as well, much to Gintoki's dismay.

There he was, sprawled on the floor, clutching his groin in pain as a vermillion-haired girl kept on glaring at him with both hands on her hips.

"That's thank you for being too fast and not stopping even when I was about to puke. I also want my PSP back."

As soon as Gintoki did not give any hint of recognition, Shiharu continued to invade his privacy by inspecting the exact location of the PSP.

"Stop my dear daughter, Papa is terribly disappointed at what you have become! Stop tainting my pure— NO NOT THERE!" Gintoki wailed.

It wasn't every day that you'd see Gintama's main character as helpless as a lamb in front of a little girl.

Seemingly little girl.

Shinpachi, deciding to be nice and help out, started to interfere.

"Hello, Uh… you are?"

Shiharu stopped embarrassing Gintoki further and looked at him with a blank stare.

"Kamiya Shiharu."

 _'Shiharu? That sounds awfully familiar.'_ he thought.

"O-oh… what.. err—" Shinpachi blushed, he wasn't used to situations like this.

Especially if it involves inappropriate inspection of crotches.

Shiharu, wanting to get this over with finally gave up and took her DS from the bag instead.

"I was thrown out to live here."

Kagura suddenly chipped in as well, after finally recovering from her boisterous laugh.

"Shi-chan! I'm Kagura, the Queen of Kabuki-cho." She proudly stated, puffing in an air of pride. "And this glasses cherry boy is Shinpachi."

"I AM NOT GLASSES NOR AM I A CHERRY BOY!"

Shiharu smiled in response.

And by means of smiling, it meant the 1.5 millimeter upward shift of the corners of her lips.

Gintoki finally stood up, retrieving the PSP and throwing it to the girl's head.

"Here you go, you brat. Papa is gonna die early if you keep that up."

Shiharu rolled her eyes.

Papa my ass, she thought.

Kagura, on the other hand, whacked Gintoki in the head.

"OUCH!"

"Stupid Gin-chan! Nobody hurts a lady like that!" Kagura huffed, looking at the samurai with accusing eyes as he clutched his head in pain.

No wonder he seems to be air-headed at times, the numerous concussions must have gotten to him.

Shiharu looked at them amusedly before retrieving her things and proceeded to sit on the couch in the living room, letting herself in unannounced.

Shinpachi sweat-dropped at the usual banter between Kagura and Gintoki before going to the kitchen to make tea for their guest.

As soon as he was done, he saw Shiharu in her natural habitat: sprawled with the game console practically glued to her face.

"So you're the Shiharu that Tsukuyo-san has been talking about." Shinpachi said with a smile as he laid out her tea on the table.

"Hn." Shiharu responded, her mind too much focused on playing.

Shinpachi tried to make conversation with the girl, until Gintoki came in.

"It's no use, Pachi-kun. Unless you're a video game she'll never pay attention to you."

Shinpachi frowned. "I know but—"

"Stop hitting on her megane. A lady will never fall for you, yes?" Kagura smirked before plopping on the couch beside Shiharu, who was seemed oblivious to the world at the moment.

"I AM NOT!" Shinpachi scowled. "I'M GOING TO COOK AND YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY!"

Kagura rolled her eyes in response, completely unconvinced.

Gintoki looked at the girl with fatherly contempt. He realized that he shouldn't have taken away the girl's game console in the first place.

Then perhaps, it would have been easier for him to drag her here, he thought.

"Ne ne Shi-chan, what game are you playing?" Kagura candidly asked, somewhat amused that the girl had the same color shade of hair as hers, except, she had red eyes, while she had cerulean blue.

"Tokidoki Funeral." Shiharu responded, too much engrossed on the game.

Kagura, being the curious girl as she was, scooted closer to Shiharu and peered in the screen, eyes widening in delight. "Wow that monster looks like Gin-chan!"

Gintoki, resigned to reading his manga on his rightful chair, scowled. "Gin-san does not look like a monster!"

"Hmph. I wish." Shiharu mumbled.

"Do not talk back to Papa, young lady!"

* * *

Soon, dinner was served.

Well, that is, dinner with raw egg on top, if that could even be called dinner.

Surprisingly, and much to the relief of Gintoki, Shiharu seemed to blend in well with them. Although she gave vague and short responses while playing, she acted back to the way she was.

He made a mental note to remember to never attempt to yank away her game console, or all hell will break loose.

Shiharu, on the other hand, widened her eyes in surprise as she finally got to take a good look at Kagura and Shinpachi; but she had her attention more to the vermillion-haired girl with cerulean eyes.

She awfully looked familiar.

But then again, she found it awkward to ask her out of the blue, so she kept silent.

Besides, she wasn't one to talk that much anyway, unless it is related to something intellectual, or to that of sarcasm.

After dinner, Shinpachi left for home, leaving the remaining three in the living room.

"Ne ne, where will you sleep, Shi-chan?" Kagura asked. For some reason, she seemed to be fond of the girl, despite their recent introductions.

Shiharu was about to respond when Gintoki interrupted, earning yet a silent scowl from the former.

"She could sleep on the couch. Papa needs to punish her because she's been such a naughty— STOP THAT!"

"Hmph. Shi-chan's sleeping with me. Who knows what you would do, yes?" Kagura frowned after hitting Gintoki in the head, dragging a now busy Shiharu playing away.

It was almost a miracle how her game consoles never seem to die on their batteries.

"My two young daughters, at such a rebellious age…" Gintoki silently sobbed as he went to his room.

Shiharu rolled her eyes silently, amused.

' _Stop with the papa act, you perm.'_

* * *

"Danchou… are you really sure about this?"

"Why not?" Kamui cheerfully responded, a grin plastered on his face.

Abuto sighed in response; his boss has been going on a killing spree since forever.

And now, he wanted to target illegal traders who were involved in women trafficking.

According to a source, there were some higher-ups who were _supposed_ to be strong enough for the Admiral to kill.

He was, after all, bored to death.

' _I might as well be damned, it's either they die or me._ ' Abuto stressfully thought.

He sometimes thought whether Ungyo would start visiting him in his dreams to come and get him.

* * *

Hinowa was cooking breakfast while Seita remained seated on the chair, his head slumped on the table.

"Okaa-san, how do you think Shi-chan is doing right now?"

The courtesan looked at him with a small smile. "I'm rather sure that she's doing just fine, I hope she visits us sometime soon though."

Seita grumbled in response. Two weeks have already passed, and up until now, the girl still hasn't made any attempt to visit them.

' _It can't be helped'_ she sadly thought. _'She must have felt abandoned, or probably her phobia getting the best of her.'_

It wasn't really easy to get over extreme fear; even the strongest of the strong had to gradually desensitize over time.

They just hoped that somehow, she was okay.

* * *

Shiharu rolled around the couch in frustration. She really wanted to attend Otsuu-chan's concert at Shibuya Koukai Dou, but she was having one big problem:

She doesn't want to go out.

She was fully dressed and ready to go but…

… she's too afraid to go out.

' _But I have to… curses, going out would do me no good. But not being able to attend Otsuu-chan's concert won't do me good either._ ' She grimfully thought.

She was almost at wits' end to give up until she heard another flip of the page of a book, or rather, manga.

Shiharu swiftly turned to her right and looked at Gintoki with seemingly pleading eyes.

' _Yes, he's here!'_ She internally squealed, despite her lack of happiness emanating from the outside.

The samurai gave her a confusing look before returning to his dead fish eyes expression, briefly realizing that somehow, her current outfit looks familiar.

"What do you want now, brat? Can't you see that papa is busy?"

Shiharu frowned and looked outside. She really wanted to go out but she couldn't.

"There's a concert I want to go to today but I _can't_." she responded, ignoring the 'Papa' comment for once.

She looked at Gintoki again, and this time, she tried to look actually as if she was pleading.

The latter rolled his eyes and attempted to ignore her.

Oh no no, he was not someone to be used as a personal horse.

But somehow, he realized that Shiharu must feel at ease by using him as a mode of transportation.

Who knew that the 'flying' trick would actually work?

But then again, Gintoki referred to himself as Shiharu's Papa, not some… horse.

Leave the animal labeling to Kondou, he thought.

Puffing her cheeks, she silently muttered. "Fine, I wonder how Tsukuyo nee-san will say about this once she learns about how I am treated—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Gintoki had her up on his shoulder, covering her eyes with a mask and swiftly running away towards Shibuya Koukai Dou.

* * *

"SHOUT AND CHEER HARDER! OTSUU-CHAN CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Shinpachi authoritatively shouted, garbed in his complete 'Otsuu-chan Fanclub' attire.

His members complied willingly and with pride, cheering for Otsuu-chan as if there was no tomorrow.

"Minna~! I'm going to sing Omae no kaa-chan xx da! now! Go and get wildrunklikeafly!"

More cheers erupted as the song began.

 _Omae soredemo ningen ka!  
Omae no kaachan XX shita!  
Omae soredemo ningen ka!  
Omae no kaachan XX shita!_

 _Anata no hokuro  
Sukoshi shikiso ga usui no ne  
Anata no hokuro  
Yoku miriyaakesho kegahaeteru_

 _Watashi no hokuro  
Koshi kara senaka hokutoshichisei  
Watashi no hokuro, hito ni kuraberya  
Choiraaji_

 _Anata no hokuro  
Watashi no hokuro  
Ima futari  
Kasanariatte_

 _(cho-chottomatte! cho-chottomatte!)_

 _Ah soredemo mada hitoburuno?  
Ah datta hakkiri itteyaru  
Ah iikagen ni shinaito  
Sono hokuro hikichigiruso!_

 _Omae soredemo ningen ka!  
Omae no kaachan XX shita!  
Omae soredemo ningen ka!  
Omae no kaachan XX shita!  
Omae soredemo ningen ka!  
Omae no kaachan XX shita!_

"OTSUU-CHAN WE LOVE YOU!"

The concert continued on until the last song ended. Shinpachi was more than satisfied to be able to attend yet another concert of his dear idol.

He was humming away cheerfully and was about to go outside when vermillion-hair caught his eye.

"Shiharu-san?!"

"Hn."

Shinpachi approached Shiharu, wide-eyed as he saw her dressed in the same garb as him. He smiled.

"It's a surprise to see you here! I never knew you were part of the fanclub!"

Shiharu shrugged in response. "I've been a fan for quite a while now. I don't always play video games you know."

' _Finally… someone who understands!'_ Shinpachi thought as he wept tears of joy, earning a frown from the girl.

"Sorry… it's just that I'm so happy to find someone who could understand my feelings and passion!" he said, silent tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked as if he has won the lottery.

If it wasn't disturbing enough, there were twinkling gold stars decorated in the background.

Shiharu rolled her eyes and responded. "Otsuu-chan's songs aren't bad, as opposed to what most people perceive." Shinpachi eagerly nodded in approval, starting to talk about his fandom with the girl.

He was too engrossed in conversation as soon as he realized that Shiharu stopped once they were about to get outside.

"What's wrong, Shiharu-san?" He asked, a questioning look on his face.

Shiharu stared at him, willing as if he should have understood her actions. But then again, Gintoki was the only one fully aware of her fear.

"I…"

"You…?" Shinpachi looked at the girl confusedly before glancing outside again. "Don't tell me you're—"

Shiharu shamefully nodded, her face reddening in embarrassment.

Shinpachi smiled as soon as he was able to undertand. He's been wondering for a while now, but ever since the girl came to live with the Yorozuya, never has she stepped out of the house unless Gintoki carried her like a sack of potatoes.

He used to wonder if she just wanted to act like a brat, but upon seeing her fearful expression just now at the thought of going outside, he finally understood.

He looked towards outside again as he tried to strategize a plan, but as soon as he turned around to call for Shiharu, he saw no one.

"Shiharu-san? Where did you— _mmff!"_

Soon, Shinpachi's mind suddenly swirled before fading to black.

* * *

"Gin-chan, where is Shinpachi and Shi-chan?" Kagura asked while eating sukonbu. She was seated cross-legged on the sofa.

Gintoki lazily drawled as he watched Ketsuno Ana on the screen.

"Never mind them, they are singing their terrible voices off on Otsuu-chan's concert."

"Oh, okay."

* * *

Shinpachi tossed and turned until the metal pipe decided to make contact with his head, giving out a loud metal _clang_.

"OUCH!"

Shinpachi immediately rose from his position, his head writhing in pain.

"Where are we?" He asked out of nowhere, finally taking in his surroundings. They were in a room made of metal, with metal pipes at some places. It was dark and clammy as well, and it appeared as if there were other unconscious people with them.

Unconscious women.

"Calm down. We're at a room of I-honestly-don't-know where." Shinpachi sharply turned to the source of the voice, frowning as soon as he saw Shiharu busying herself with her game console, she seemed to be disinterested in the situation they were in.

Sometimes, Shinpachi thought if the girl would die if her game gets stolen, or worse, broken.

Or rather, he thought whether Shiharu treated gaming as breathing.

"Aren't you worried? How long have you been awake?!" He frantically asked, looking around his surroundings once again.

It was a shame how Shinpachi was close to pissing his pants from fear, while Shiharu, without a care in the world, kept on playing games.

"For a while now, I have to finish this episode or I won't be able to go to the next one." The girl mumbled.

Shinpachi was about to give her a good scolding when two rat-looking Amanto came in.

"So are these the goods we have gathered? We will be millionaires in no time!"

"Shiharu-san, hurry and pretend to be asleep!" Shinpachi whispered to the girl, who preferred to ignore his worried suggestion.

In response, Shiharu mocked him by turning up the volume of the game console to its max, earning a horrified look from the glasses boy.

"Hey! What's that noise?!" Rat Amanto #1 shouted, roaming around the area until his eyes locked on Shiharu. The other women who awoke shivered in fear.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He snickered, as he approached the girl.

Shiharu ignored him and continued on playing, while Shinpachi was desperately shaking her to at least pay attention, since clearly, Rat Amanto #1 was very displeased at her manners, a scowl plastered on his face.

"How dare you human ignore me!" he shouted, yanking Shiharu's hair in order for the Amanto to take a good look at her.

"What? Just because I didn't talk doesn't mean I ignored you." She replied with a deadpanned expression.

"S-shut up! Don't get all cocky with me you brat?"

"I'm not a brat, I have a name. And I certainly do _not_ have a cock."

Shinpachi shrieked. This was doing them no good.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Rat Amanto #1 shouted, a vein popping on his forehead. "Stop twisting my words! For all I care a cock will enter you shamelessly once I am done with trading you."

"A cock cannot enter if it doesn't knock. Besides, cocks are roosters. I don't get the point of a rooster entering me. Where would it enter? It's too big to fit my mouth." Shiharu rolled her eyes, frowning at Rat Amanto #1's seemingly slow processing.

' _It's you who has gotten it all wrong, Shiharu-san.'_ Shinpachi worriedly thought as he was at the same time amused at the girl's responses.

Sometimes, he thought that maybe, Shiharu was actually Gintoki's child.

They have the same color of eyes and attitude after all.

"SHUT UP! GUARDS! TAKE HER TO MY ROOM! BITCH YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Rat Amanto #1 threatened, while other miniature rat guards scurried towards the girl to carry her, while Shiharu herself proceeded to focus on her game instead.

"S-stop this!" Shinpachi shouted. He couldn't stand this ludicrous situation anymore. Moreover, he doesn't want Shiharu to be harmed.

Or else Tsukuyo might murder the whole Yorozuya.

"Silence, human. You have to wait for your turn!" Rat Amanto #1 chided, while Rat Amanto #2 approached the girl, briefly curious at what game she was playing.

"Hey kid, what game is that?"

"Tokidoki Funeral. I'm currently on episode 5."

"Are you kidding? That hasn't been released yet! How did you get it?"

Shiharu shrugged.

Shinpachi sweat-dropped at the brief commercial before scowling at Rat Amanto #1.

"What the hell is this anyway?! And why is this room full of females?!"

"As you can see, this room contains my merchandise. We'll be selling off these stinkin' women to Amanto as business." Rat Amanto #1 explained, as if he was talking to a child.

A vein popped on Shinpachi's forehead. "WHAT THE HELL?! WHY KIDNAP ME THEN?!"

Rat Amanto #1 looked at him with surprise. "Why not, you're a girl aren't you?"

Pfft.

Shiharu silently snickered for the first time, earning another fit from Shinpachi.

"STOP SNICKERING! AND I AM NOT A GIRL! CAN'T YOU SEE MY BODY! I AM A MAN!"

"Yup, clearly that of a blooming teenaged girl." Rat Amanto #2 nodded in approval.

"S-STOP THIS NONSENSE!" Shinpachi shouted, exasperated. He was certainly tired of dealing with things like this, and he didn't like what was currently happening one bit.

After all, who would love to have their gender mistaken as the opposite?

Certainly not Shinpachi, who seemed to be a cherry boy for life.

As he was about to let another retort, the wall behind them suddenly burst open, the debris falling over him in the process, rendering him unconscious.

' _Rest in peace, Shinpachi-san.'_ Shiharu thought wickedly.

She was able to dodge the wall unknowingly as she rolled over to the left after staying in one position for so long.

"Danchou! We could have just entered through the door!"

"But it's more fun this way, Abuto."

' _Ungyo, where are you? I am ready'_. Abuto thought, rubbing his temples due to the overwhelming stress he was feeling.

He wouldn't want to face another workload of papers for damages, just as he was just done with the recent batch of paperwork last night.

Shiharu swiftly turned her attention to the source of the voice, immediately recognizing who it was.

Kamui stood with his cheerful grin on as always, casually inspecting his surroundings like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time, before he took notice of those wide crimson orbs once again.

"Are, if it isn't the little weakling rabbit?" He greeted cheerfully.

Shiharu could only gape in response.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **[1]** **Flooding –** Flooding is a psychotherapeutic method for overcoming phobias. In order to demonstrate the irrationality of the fear, a psychologist would put a person in a situation where they would face their phobia at its worst.

 **BloodyCamellia:** Thank you so much for the detailed review, I really appreciate this you know. I mean, not a lot of people take the time to sit down and explain their suggestions with me so I feel very much honored. w True, I'm still trying to get a grasp of what his personality is, and I hope I could maintain/improve his character in the future chapters— the last thing I'd want to happen is to have him, no, all of the characters, be OOC. Hihi I think so too, I wanted to have a protagonist who was really unique and different, one that could contrast completely to Kamui, hence, the gamer protag. XD Hihi thank you so much! I honestly find it refreshing whenever I bully Abuto so… 3:)

 **Unsui:** Aww thank you so much! :`) I hope I manage to keep all of them in character though.

 **Peanuts:** Hihi! Ah, Gintoki might be a master of sugar. XD Thanks for the review!

 **Tonki:** Thank you so much! Hihi, I'd like to keep updating this constantly, for by far I myself am enjoying the story. *u*

 **Thank you so much for reading, everyone! ^-^**


	3. CHAPTER THREE: Paradox

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

 **Paradox**

" _Together, we form a necessary paradox; not a senseless contradiction."  
― __Criss Jami_

* * *

Shiharu was definitely surprised as soon as she saw Kamui for the second time; the latter seemed to be quite amused himself. However, he had far more important matters to attend to— and that definitely doesn't include the 'little weakling rabbit'.

"Ne, Abuto. How many minutes do you think I'll be able to wipe out this place?" Kamui asked with a grin.

Abuto briefly glanced at Shiharu, who surprisingly, didn't seem that much afraid anymore compared to before.

Instead, she was seen getting back to playing Tokidoki Funeral.

The older Yato even raised a brow as soon she heard her mumble the words, "Finally I'm on episode 6. Freak yeah!"

"Abuto~ You're not paying attention." Kamui chided as he kicked Abuto hard, taking him by surprise as he flung towards the wall.

"Hai, hai. I bet 3 minutes tops Danchou." Abuto replied as he slowly stood up with a sigh; he was planning to have his own fair share of kills, but Kamui interrupted him and warned him from doing so, much to his dismay.

"Kill even one of 'em and I'll kill ya~" Kamui said in a sing-song voice, earning a frown from Abuto.

' _I will definitely be damned.'_ He sighed, opting to sit this one out. Upon seeing Shiharu's uncaring and busy form, he decided to stand by her instead in order to see what she was doing.

There's no harm in a curios Yato initiating conversation with a little girl anyway, right?

"Hey ojou-chan, what are you doing?" He asked in a gruff manner.

"Playing. I'm on episode 6." Shiharu merely said, not sparing a look on the older Yato.

Abuto raised an eyebrow as he sighed. "Aren't you worried about getting killed?"

"No. My character will do the beating instead. He's invincible." Shiharu joked, earning another frown from Abuto, who decided to keep silent instead.

However, unbeknownst to the two, Shiharu was actually watching the fight in a subtle manner, glancing every now and then from her DS when Abuto wasn't looking.

She actually felt very intimidated and afraid of Kamui, however, as compared to her situation last time, now seemed even less threatening. For some reason she could not fathom why, she feels at ease now, despite the bloodshed and massacre that was currently occurring.

Also, Shiharu could not help but be amazed at the vermillion-haired lad who killed without any difficulty. He also had this carefree expression that clearly showed how much he is having fun, smiling widely.

' _It's as if he loves sending people to the afterlife with a smile.'_ She silently mused, her crimson orbs fixated on every punch and kick Kamui gave out to his opponents.

Somehow, she could imagine her own character coming to life.

In all honesty, Shiharu loved playing games because it takes her out of the harsh reality she is living in. She enjoys being in a fictional world wherein everything is new, wherein her starting point is within her control; about how fully responsible she was for every consequence or risk that may happen to her character.

In short, she felt as if she was her true self whenever she played games.

Shiharu also loved playing because no one judges her for who she is. No Yato-name calling, no bastard child of Joui Rebels… none.

But of course, she wouldn't let anyone know about this small secret of hers.

Rather, she thinks no one would give a care to what _her opinion_ is on things like this, since people tend to see her as a _'sleazy and lazy brat'_.

To be honest, she wasn't really lazy. She just gives out the appearance of being a lazy bum, making people misinterpret her.

But the truth is, she'd rather live her life in the games she plays, than to struggle in real life.

' _Who needs reality, when I've got a reality of my own. Virtual it may be, but I could still call it mine.'_ She always thought.

She wanted to be an amazing courtesan like Hinowa. At the same time, she also wanted to be badass and strong like Tsukuyo, the leader of the Hyakka.

However, she never wanted to attempt to try in fear of failing.

Yes, she was weak. She made a brave attempt once, and it failed. After every failure she was afraid to try again, in fear of repeating the same mistake, or rather, her mistakes to be overlapped.

But when it comes to games, there is always a reset button— by which she loves very much in times of dire need.

Shiharu is fully aware about how twisted her logic is, but then again, she has never felt any safer whenever she was in the safe confinements of her virtual world.

That is why now, she can't help but be surprised and amazed at seeing one young man kill off easily as if he was her own character in Monkey Hunter.

She felt as if her virtual self has finally come to life.

Shiharu became briefly distracted by the fight, that Abuto had finally noticed.

He raised a brow upon finally seeing an interested expression from the girl, who seemed to abandon the game console at the moment.

He looked again at his Danchou who doesn't seem to be aware that he had a small audience before him.

Not that he would care about being watched though.

But what amused Abuto the most was that the girl does not seem to be afraid, despite the blood mess and gory carcasses that seem to be surrounding her at the moment.

Rather, she looked awestruck and for the first time since he saw her last; she seemed to have eyes that were burning with _life_.

' _Strange kid.'_ He chuckled silently.

Somehow, Shiharu briefly reminds him of his boss's little sister, Kagura. Except, this one seems to be less lively than the former.

But as compared to Kagura, this one seems to enjoy the sight of bloodshed, he thought.

After barely three minutes, Kamui was finally done "cleaning up" the mess. He licked his blood-stained hands with a smile on his face.

"Ah, still worthless, but refreshing." He grinned, moving towards Abuto.

Abuto immediately approached Kamui, after briefly glancing at Shiharu who had her face close to the screen of her game console again, giving him another amused look.

"Let's go eat Abuto, we're done here." The vermillion-haired lad said,

"Hai hai Danchou. Let's use the front door next time, I don't want taxes piling up on us again." Abuto sighed, scratching his head.

Sometimes, he wished Ungyo was alive so that he could help him with matters like this, especially when it came to _motherly_ matters such as cooking and other basic things, especially taxes and paperwork.

It was only until recently that he had to do everything, since he could rely on no one anymore but himself. Kamui was out of the question, since the lad seemed to hate mundane and boring things such as _paperwork_.

Besides, Kamui and paperwork don't go together.

They _never_ go together.

As soon as the two of them turned around to leave, a pack of bubblegum was thrown towards Kamui's head, which was perfectly caught by the latter, no matter how much of a surprise move it was.

"Bubblegum is good for hunger because it contains sugar. It'll satiate your stomach for the time being." Shiharu casually said as she turned off the power button of her game console, standing up to finally check whether Shinpachi was still breathing or not.

Kamui looked at the bubblegum package curiously; it indeed was similar to the one he had eaten last time. He looked at the crimson-eyed girl who was trying with all her might to remove the debris that has been covering Shinpachi with an amused look on his face.

Abuto sighed at what has been happening, and started to walk off, despite the disturbing urge to help her with whatever she was trying to lift.

But he decided not to— his boss might kill him for it.

The vermillion-haired lad did not think of giving thanks to the girl— he doesn't have a reason to thank her anyway, since he didn't ask for anything in return.

Instead, he cheerfully said before parting, "Bye bye, little weakling rabbit!", and jumped up the hole, casually throwing a piece of scrap metal towards her direction, followed by Abuto who gave a pitiful glance at the girl before jumping up as well.

He was honestly tempted to help out, since the girl seemed so fragile and harmless.

But then again, he wouldn't want to live the day to see Kamui sending him off with a _smile_.

Also, he did not understand the reason for his boss to make an attempt to kill her. After all, she gave him bubblegum anyway, seeing the Admiral gobble up the whole thing in one go.

Shiharu, on the other hand, was somehow able to successfully dodge the stray debris that was thrown at her when she crouched down and tried to pull up the broken wall before her, containing a possibly dead Shinpachi.

She was fully aware of how Kamui seemed to attempt to kill her, but for some reason she could not understand why, she never felt in the least disturbed.

' _It must be because I associate my character so much with him, or I must be simply insane'_ she thought, amused.

After several tries of attempting to lift up the wall, her hands gave way and finally gave up trying, feeling disappointed.

She looked around her surroundings and noted how every single body was crushed and mutilated, except for those of the women, who seemed to be bawling their eyes out at the moment.

After all, it was not an everyday occurrence to witness something as gory and murderous as this.

Shiharu didn't feel in the least traumatized, due to her excessive share of playing gory games. What she would consider as 'trauma' would most likely be her attempted rape experience.

In all honesty, she still gets the shivers whenever she thinks about it.

She wanted to ask for help from the women, but she seemed too timid to do so; also, they aren't in the state of being helpful at the moment, she thought.

She wanted to go outside, but then again, her phobia got the better of her. Sighing, she decided to lean back on what was left of the wall, and opened her game console again to play.

After all, her reality belongs to the virtual world anyway.

* * *

Bad timing always happens to unlucky people, they said.

Unfortunately, for Gintoki, this seems to happen all the time, making him an unlucky person.

A very unlucky person at that.

It was already evening; however, none of the two Otsuu-chan fans arrived home.

Yes, they were supposed to be enjoying their youth, but usually Shiharu stays cooped up at home, and Shinpachi arrives around 7PM to cook dinner.

And now at 9PM, they were still nowhere to be found.

Gintoki scratched his head as he yawned, leaning his head on the side to look at the Justaway clock that continued to make tick-tock sounds. _'That's odd'_ , he thought. _'They should be here by now.'_

"Gin-chan I'm hungry. A lady needs to have her dinner, yes?" Kagura whined as she approached Gintoki with a frown, her stomach giving out a loud rumbling sound.

"Go find Pachi-kun and the brat with Sadaharu. I'll patiently wait for them here like how a good father should." Gintoki replied, gesturing her to shoo, as if she was Sadaharu.

A vein popped on Kagura's forehead as she whacked Gintoki on the head.

 _Whack!_

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR, YOU MONSTER GIRL?!" Gintoki shouted, clutching his head in pain.

Kagura huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms. "That's for calling me a monster! And you don't give orders to the Queen of Kabuki-cho, yes?"

Gintoki rolled his eyes. He knew what the girl wanted, it was just really his fault for not listening.

"Hai hai, just get out you brat and find them. Here's money for your sukonbu." He annoyingly said, throwing some coins at her forehead, while his other hand picked on his ear.

Kagura smirked and took the said coins happily as they fell on the floor.

"Kagura the Great will find them." She proudly stated, before calling out to her pet dog. "Sadaharu, let's go!"

Gintoki rolled his eyes as he watched the girl and the abnormally big dog run out the front door, by which up to now is still broken with a gaping hole.

' _Ah, finally some peace and quiet.'_ He happily thought, before standing up to get some pudding in the fridge.

He lazily scratched his tummy as he went to the direction of the kitchen, partially elated that he will be finally able to eat his most precious pudding.

To be quite frank, he restrained himself from doing so earlier, fully knowing well that the Yato girl will fight with him for him it, considering that a glutton like her spared no food mercy.

That is, well… unless it was Otae's cooking.

"Ah, pudding, Gin-san is here to finally give you some hot love!" Gintoki grinned wildly as he excitingly opened the fridge and ripped the covering of the pudding as if he was ripping some gift wrapper from Christmas presents.

Gintoki took a spoon and was about to take a big bite of his pudding when—

"Gintoki."

A tick formed on Gintoki's temples as he shakingly put the pudding down, far from harm's way as he turned to the intruder, ready to give a sickening fit.

"Don't you know how long I've been waiting to—"

"Where's Shiharu-chan?"

As soon as the intruder spoke clearly, Gintoki's eyes widened, immediately forgetting the annoyance he felt just a while back.

In the back of his mind, he seemed to indeed be very unlucky this day, he thought.

"W-well… S-she's out with Shinpachi enjoying—"

"Gin-chan! I can't find them! They might be dead already." Kagura stated as she grumpily went inside, clearly not being happy of going out to find to people older than her, despite the small glee she felt from being able to buy more sukonbu.

Tsukuyo, who turned out to be the intruder, swiftly looked at Gintoki with a menacing look in her eyes, making the man shiver with fear, sweating profusely despite the cold weather.

"Tsu-Tsukuyo-san it's not what you—"

 _Whack!_

"Hmph. Good for nothing samurai." She scoffed, clearly annoyed at what has just transpired; Kagura was cheering for her in the background, acting as if she was some heroine who finally was able to beat the big boss.

Tsukuyo frowned as she turned to the girl, who in return, seemed to be just as clueless as she was.

All Tsukuyo ever wanted was to pay a peaceful visit to Shiharu; she even brought some games and packs of bubblegum with her as a gift of truce. She knew that somehow, the girl still might be mad at her, at them, for seemingly throwing her away like that— when all they ever wanted was for her to return to normal.

As seemingly safe as it looks now, Yoshiwara still isn't a place for young girls like her to be living in, let alone, frolicking in, for the place itself was a den full of hungry men yearning for flesh.

Also, flat-chested and child-like she may be, Shiharu was still a growing teen in her puberty; even though she is still underage, she still might be targeted due to her looks.

And Tsukuyo does not want to risk that any longer, especially after what happened to her in the past.

For some reason, the Hyakka leader also seemed wary of having her stay there, for Shiharu seemed to be a danger magnet of sorts; she was honestly lucky to not have been killed by Kamui the first time they met. But what if they meet for a second time, what happens then?

She would not want to risk it.

Tsukuyo sighed as she walked out the front door, glaring at Gintoki who seemed to still be writhing in pain.

"Kagura-chan, please tell me once Shiharu arrives, okay?"

"Hai!" Kagura saluted as she called for Sadaharu to find the two again, with hopes that maybe, just maybe, they were still somewhere within the vicinity.

Being alone once again, Gintoki sighed as he finally stood up, deciding that he'll try to find them next. It was bad enough that Tsukuyo was disappointed, and possibly thought of him as an uncaring foster father, but still… Shiharu and Shinpachi were still family to him.

And as much as possible, he honestly didn't want anything bad to happen to them, no matter how light the circumstance may be.

Especially for Shiharu, who, for some reason he cannot fathom why, seemed to have a familial place in his heart, despite their recent meeting.

He always used to think that it must be because of her eyes and demeanor, but still… there was something more to her that he could not pinpoint out.

Taking his bokuto with him, he rushed off to search for the two.

* * *

For the first time in history, Shiharu felt genuinely surprised and at the same time, very much annoyed.

For the first time, her game console finally broke.

Thanks to a falling debris from above.

Curse words spouted in her mind as she repeatedly restrained herself from throwing a tantrum by kicking the said culprit, getting somewhat annoyed now at the vermillion-haired lad, blaming him for being the cause of the mess.

If it weren't for him, she thought, the falling debris wouldn't have killed her most precious sweet in the first place.

She rubbed her temples in an attempt to calm down, when suddenly she heard some whispering in a corner.

"Gintoki, she seems to be the girl isn't she? If she is then why are we hiding? It is unbecoming of samurai like us to be looking like peeping— HEY!"

 _Kick!_

Shiharu frowned as a soft kicking sound was heard next, accompanied with covered whimpers.

Rolling her eyes, she was about to shrug it off and attempt to sleep, when suddenly she was lifted up.

"Papa needs to teach you how to be more self-preserving. Don't you like your new home? Do you prefer sleeping here? Don't you worry at all? No more bubblegum for you, and you're grounded for a week, young lady!"

Shiharu widened her eyes in surprise as she struggled to look at the face of her captor, but to no avail.

Not that she needed to know anyway; she inhaled the familiar scent of sugar and strawberries, finally feeling at ease.

Despite hiding out playing games, she honestly felt very worried about their state, especially Shinpachi's.

But then again, whenever she got anxious or panicky like this, she tends to deny the existence of reality.

Gintoki felt her muscles relax as she whispered, "Shinpachi-san is under the debris. I tried… but I can't."

Gintoki let out a small smile as he ruffled the girl's head, relieved that she seemed somewhat okay.

"Good job. I know you did your best."

Shiharu let out a small, seemingly non-existent smile in response, slowly closing her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

' _Huh… where am I?'_ Shinpachi thought as he felt something soft, enveloping him with warmth.

' _But wait, what happened to Shiharu-san?'_

' _What is this place?'_

' _Am I dead?'_

' _But why is there no light?'_

 _!_

' _Am I going to hell?!'_

Shinpachi shrieked as he opened his eyes immediately, before suddenly feeling at ease upon knowing that he wasn't dead yet.

For a person like Shinpachi, it was honestly a miracle for him to still be alive, after hours of being crushed under a dilapidated wall.

Finally feeling relaxed, he started to wonder what that 'soft' feeling may be.

He somehow wished that he was under Otsuu-chan's arms, or at least in his bed. But as he looked up…

"WHAA—?! ELIZABETH-SAN?!"

Elizabeth had him in its arms, looking at him with those dead eyes.

" _Is something wrong."_ Elizabeth held out a placard.

Shinpachi looked at it with dead fish eyes, frantically wishing that he should've just been a good boy and slept.

* * *

A thousand apologies, a hundred threats, a dozen of unsuccessful 'groundings and punishments', and weeks of torturing Gintoki by the usually sweet Hinowa and naturally ruthless Tsukuyo later, everything was fine and dandy once again.

It turns out that Katsura was aware of the women trafficking that was happening on the east side of Edo, but was not aware that Shinpachi and Shiharu were included in it, hence, he paid it no heed.

But then again, he earned a lot of punches and kicks from Gintoki, who seemed clearly annoyed that if only Katsura had informed him sooner, the sooner they would have found the two, and the wrath of Tsukuyo and Hinowa would then be avoided.

But at the end of the evening, Gintoki still was thankful that nothing happened to them both.

He tried asking Shiharu for details, by which she gave him a vague response, still feeling a bit peeved about the death of her DS.

No more Tokidoki Funeral for a while, she thought.

She even tried asking 'nicely' for Gintoki to buy her a new one, but she only earned a whack in response.

As for Shinpachi, he was still the same as ever. But unfortunately, he could not enlighten Gintoki further as to the events that happened after, since he passed out.

In all honesty, Gintoki wanted to know. It was not every day you'd find corpses and mutilated parts hanging around the vicinity as if it was some thrown confetti.

And he had a feeling of who was responsible for it, however, the girl would not budge no matter how many times he asked, for a reason he did not know why.

Shiharu, on the other hand, refused to tell Gintoki anything, in fear that he might hunt the vermillion-haired lad down. She herself did not tell Tsukuyo that the men who attempted to rape her were killed, despite the feeling she had that somehow, Tsukuyo still knew.

Also, she didn't want to worry Gintoki further, in fear that maybe, she might get thrown out of the house in order to live with another family.

She did not want that, especially now that she has somehow warmed up to them, and felt very at ease with their companionship.

At the very least, she'd do anything in order to not lose this current family she has.

At the very least, she thought, she'd want to protect their connection and bonds with what measly power she has.

* * *

"Ohohoho, now you look as pretty as me, yes?" Kagura grinned while Shiharu frowned at her.

She was currently wearing the same outfit Kagura has, with the red qipao and black trousers, along with black flats Hinowa gave to her sometime in the past.

And if you look at her closely, she'd look very much like Kagura, if only it weren't for her eyes and hairstyle, her chest-length hair with waves at the ends and side bangs.

It was unlucky enough that Katsura _accidentally_ burned her closet of clothes, after making various attempts to pester Gintoki.

And now, she had to go outside, much to her fear and dismay.

What was worse was that Gintoki isn't available at the moment to assist her with her phobia.

It was all up to Kagura for now, by whom she treated as her Kami-sama, in hopes that maybe, the Yato girl will spare her the torture of facing her fear once again.

"Ne Shi-chan, why don't you ride on Sadaharu's back? He's really fluffy!" Kagaru instructed Shiharu, as she held Sadaharu in place, to avoid him accidentally biting Shiharu's head off.

The girl hesitated for a minute, grasping the straps of her backpack tightly.

Yes, she brought her laptop and game consoles, with a new DS in tow, after Tsukuyo gave her the "truce" gift.

"Don't be a scaredy cat, yes? Sadaharu is nice." Kagura confidently said as she lifted up Shiharu with ease, securing her on Sadaharu's back.

"H-hn." Shiharu tentatively responded as she proceeded to bury her face in the dog's fur, fearful that she might get thrown out or something.

Kagura smiled at the girl and patted her head as if she were a child, before going out with Sadaharu, Shiharu on its back.

They strolled around Kabuki-cho, with Kagura stopping every now and then to pick fights with the sadist, Okita Sougo.

"Just get out of our way, you stinky human!"

"Ouch, China. Now you're wounding this poor policeman's heart."

"Che!"

A sweat dropped formed on Shiharu's face as she somehow realized that Kagura and Sougo were fighting yet again, for the nth time.

Sadaharu barked and cheered for its master, while Kagura shouted.

"Sadaharu, go bring Shi-chan to the clothes shop for now! I'll catch up as soon as I'm done with this bastar— HEY THAT'S CHEATING!"

Sougo smirked. "It's not my fault you're not paying attention."

' _Ah, young love.'_ Shiharu sarcastically thought as she felt Sadaharu moving swiftly towards wherever they were going at the moment, the sounds of the seemingly lovers' spat, gradually disappearing at every second.

Sadaharu barked again, moving its back to signal Shiharu to get down.

We're here, it seemed to say.

Shiharu slowly opened her eyes and immediately went inside the store, after frowning at Sadaharu who seemed to choose to take a dump on top of a sleeping homeless man with black shades, and a cardboard box for a house.

However, as soon as she stepped inside, and was about to go to the direction of where the shirts were, she suddenly felt a sudden force hit the back of her head.

And then everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **BloodyCamellia:** Thank you so much for the review! ^-^ Hihi, in this chapter though, I hope everyone got the chance to know more about Shiharu a bit, by which I plan to unfold her whole personality in the future chapters gradually. Think of it as bits and pieces of surprises (since I honestly love them). Certainly this fan fic of mine won't be as fluffy and as cheesy romantic as compared to the others… since I tend to love mixing romance and angst. *evil laugh* Hihi soon shall be revealed in the future~ *u*

 **Tonki:** Ah, indeed. Our cherry boy seemed to be getting lots of beating recently. XD

 **GinkoxKaguura:** Thank you! I did too, since I myself am a fan of gaming. The arc made me cry with laughter to be quite frank. XD

 **:** Yay thank you so much! I feel very honored to receive a compliment such as this. :`) I hope I can manage to make them as consistent as possible though. XD

 **angelbott:** Thank you! Oooh, I think I'll check out Markiplier sometime. *u* I was livid at the men who attempted to rape her too. I be like, 'nobody touches my Shiharu-chan!' (or nah, Kamui should be saying this. Kidding, haha I wish. /slapped) Hihi prolyl Abuto will be getting a vacation soon too, if he's nice. XD

 **Xliaf27:** Hihi thank you so much! ^-^

 **Thank you for reading, awesome people!**


	4. CHAPTER FOUR: Incredulity

**A / N:**

Ohoho first off… I WOULD LIKE TO DEEPLY APOLOGIZE FOR THE ULTIMATE DELAY. TwT It's been a month since I last updated, which was quite odd even for me, considering that I usually make it a point to update at least _weekly_ *coughs* A Different Kind of Torture *coughs*. A lot has been going on lately (family, work, relationships) that I haven't been able to juggle around doing things I love **the most**. I might return home sooner than I thought, and I might pass my resignation letter at an earlier time due to time constraints, and I just realized how I'm better off being alone and independent rather than engaging in a relationship (I'm no man-hater, my personality is just too complex to be bounded by a term such as 'relationship'—most people find me hard to understand as well, as proven by my record of failed ones lol). Ah, it's been a roller-coaster ride for me this year.

Anyways! Enough about my private life and ramblings, by which you would find it to be pretty boring. XD I now present to you the 4th chapter!

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

 **Incredulity**

 _"Incredulity is the wisdom of the fool."  
― __Josh_ _Billings_

* * *

 _Sadaharu barked again, moving its back to signal Shiharu to get down._

 _We're here, it seemed to say._

 _Shiharu slowly opened her eyes and immediately went inside the store, after frowning at Sadaharu who seemed to choose to take a dump on top of a sleeping homeless man with black shades, and a cardboard box for a house._

 _However, as soon as she stepped inside, and was about to go to the direction of where the shirts were, she suddenly felt a sudden force hit the back of her head._

 _And then everything went black._

* * *

"Hmph." Okita smirked as his heel stepped on Kagura's abdomen, earning a scowl from the latter.

"Serve you right, Chi— OOF!"

Okita's victory was cut short as soon as the white dog toppled over him, earning a bear hug from its master.

"Yaay good dog, Sadaharu! You know how to treat a lady right, yes?" Kagura happily said as soon as she gave Okita the derp-face.

Okita frowned at her, obviously not pleased at how he cannot get up due to the humongous weight of the abnormally large dog.

"Take that, sadist! You're as weak as expected— huh?"

"Arf!"

Kagura's speech was interrupted as Sadaharu barked at her for attention, briefly reminding her that someone seemed to be missing at the moment.

The latter frowned in confusion. "What's up Sadaharu? Where's Shi-chan?"

Okita, immediately getting a hold of the situation, devilishly smiled at the Yato.

"Oho~ Someone seems to be missing, ne, China?"

"Sh-shut up, Sadist! Shi-chan must be wandering inside the store!"

Sadaharu's barks and whines stated otherwise, making Kagura look paler than how she naturally was.

 _No, she's gone._ It seemed to say.

Without sparing another second, Kagura immediately ran off towards the cloths shop wherein Shiharu was supposed to be just until a minute or so, leaving an amused Okita behind.

"Man, China must have replaced me." He jokingly said before walking off, completely undisturbed that the Yato must be worried sick of whoever this 'Shi-chan' was.

' _Oh no oh no oh no oh no, Gin-chan and Tsukki will kill me once they know that Shi-chan is missing!'_ Kagura worriedly thought as she frantically searched every nook and cranny of the clothes shop, earning weird looks from both the customers and salespeople inside.

One concerned saleslady carefully approached her, tapping her on the shoulder.

"E-excuse me miss, can I help you with something?"

Kagura went stiff, looking at her slowly before asking questions continuously, much to the surprise of the latter.

"Did you see a girl with an outfit like me? Looks like me but with red eyes? Has orange hair?" She asked, shaking the poor girl violently as if she was some rag doll.

Before the saleslady was close to passing out, the timid cashier spoke up.

"S-s-sorry miss… but you see…" the cashier went close to Kagura and whispered in her ear.

Kagura's eyes widened as she rushed outside, a look of mixed terror and anxiety spread on her face.

The people in the clothes shop were left in a daze or worry and confusion.

"SHI-CHAN!"

* * *

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Splat._

' _Ugh, what is that, so annoying.'_ Shiharu grumbled as she attempted to look for the right spot to lay down.

For some reason, she still feels groggy and the back of her head hurts as if there was no tomorrow; but then again, she could not help but wonder why was Gintoki's couch suddenly damp and hard.

' _Wait… don't tell me that…'_

Shiharu immediately opened her eyes, finally realizing that she was somewhere far _again_ from home.

She shook her head in utter disbelief and irritation that she was brought to someplace unknown.

Again.

Sometimes she thinks that maybe it was better if they chained her up at home instead.

Or maybe it was better to never have bothered going out at all, despite the circumstances.

Letting out a sigh, she checked her backpack if the game consoles inside, as well as her laptop; she sighed in relief upon seeing that they were still intact.

"I wouldn't want my lifeline getting ruined in a foreign place." She muttered, trying to be as quiet as possible, despite her shaking hands. She felt unsafe once again, fully aware that somehow, there was no more Shinpachi to reassure her that everything will be alright.

She was completely alone.

She sighed again as she finally took in her surroundings; it seemed to be the same interior as the place she was kidnapped to before, however, this place seemed colder and more damp. Also, she was alone and worse, was behind bars.

' _It seems that I am in a cell'_ she thought, discovering a shabby bed with an excuse for a pillow and a thin blanket. She frowned and contemplated on what to do:

She could inspect whatever was out there by shouting (which seemed to be really reckless and stupid), or to try picking the locks (she never had her game console repair tools for nothing, right?)

She could just sleep it off and hope for the best (which will be hard to attain since Shiharu is wide awake now, and terrified)

She could just trust her good 'ol game console and retreat to the virtual world.

The most plausible mode of action of course would be Option # 1, since escape and means to know your surroundings is the most ideal thing to do in times of danger like this, especially if you are alone. No sane person would want to be left bare and unguarded in such a foreign place.

However, this was Shiharu we are talking about.

She was never defined to be _sane_.

Rather, she was the complete opposite of it.

After giving a hard look at the lock as if it would open itself just for her, she finally shrugged it off and retreated to the bed, finding it to be surprisingly _soft._

' _Meh, they should've dropped me here instead of putting my unceremoniously on the floor'_ She silently scoffed as she took out her PSP.

In times of worry like this, Monkey Hunter really does the trick.

Shiharu smiled with glee as she saw her character spring to life once again.

"Ah, Kuroro, we meet again." She sighed like Sacchan as she rubbed the screen on her cheek.

It was very un-Shiharu like of her to do such a thing.

But then again, she was alone, and she was still a girl.

It wouldn't be wrong to fall in love with your male self, right?

Shiharu continued on to play as if there was no tomorrow, the fear and anxiety slowly ebbing away from her system the more she focused on her character's moves.

If only life was a game with reset, she thought, she would've been the top player for a long time.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Shiharu, the Admiral himself was busy playing as well.

That is, playing around hiding while trying to escape the whiny voice of Abuto.

"Danchou, get your ass here and sign these papers! All you have to do is sign them, is that too much to ask?" Abuto sighed as he tiredly called out to find the vermillion-haired lad.

He will definitely be damned if he doesn't submit those papers on time, he thought.

After all, they were the ones with the most damage expenses that are to be covered by the Harusame Insurance, thanks to a certain blood-lusted man.

He was about to give up and attempt to forge Kamui's signature instead, when two lackeys approached him.

"Sir! We have something to report to you!"

"And it's good news!"

Abuto raised a brow at this. It wasn't everyday that one has to hear such a term as, 'good news'.

"What is it?"

' _Oh no wait_ ' he thought. _'They must've found the damn captain maybe—'_

"We have found a person very much similar to the Admiral!"

"Therefore we found it in our best interests to recruit her!"

Abuto suddenly looked as if he was a flour ghost.

It wasn't damn possible, right?, he thought.

After all, all hell would break loose if every they even attempted to lay a hand on Kagura.

Thinking that Kagura was held captive, he gave a quick whack to the two before rushing down towards the dungeons, desperately hoping that Kamui has not been there yet.

If he was, he would have to stop the fight at all costs.

After all, damage taxes were piling up; and even if they were insured, there was still a limit to how much the expenses would be covered.

* * *

Shiharu frowned as soon as the screen to her game console turned black.

' _Shit. I knew I should've charged it already when the red blinks appeared.'_ She silently cursed herself, reaching for her bag to find her charger, after being reassured that a power socket was situated on the wall at the side of her bed.

Lucky girl.

Or so she thought.

As soon as she got the charger and was about to plug it in the socket, a cheerful voice interrupted her ears.

"Are, what do we have here?"

* * *

 **A/N:**

Shortest chapter yet. I might make a new one immediately in the weekend *coughs* I hope I could.

 **Xliaf27:** Gaaah I do too! I honestly might give GinTsu more screen time soon, since OkiKagu has somewhat had their fill in this chapter~ *u*

 **angelbott:** Haha! Kamui will be kicked soon… I hope. /gets kicked instead. Haha! It would be hilarious for Abuto going on vacation and leaving everything up to Kamui though; or rather, have Abuto mysteriously 'disappear' or something. XD

 **BloodyCamellia:** Hihi well… my creativity is always at its peak around midnight. I think. TwT Haha well… that would be a surprise. Jk jk. Nah, she's completely human. ^-^ And have a great day/night as well, thanks! :D

 **wip:** Thank you so much! Indeed, she seems to be a magnet for trouble. :`)

 **:** I feel so honored, thank you. :`) Ohoho her past will be revealed sometime in the future chapters~~ *u*

 **GinkoxKaguura:** Hihi I now present to you the 4th chapter! :D

 **Thank you for reading, awesome people! And thank you for the messages as well.**


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